6 Clubs in the Play-Offs from Next Season 2026/27

[Smurph]

I accept the change. I'm not going to embrace it though. Let's agree to disagree as you and I have done in the past

I can guarantee that if we finish eighth and get promoted via the playoffs your moral outrage will disappear.

Enjoy your weekend

 

[Cwmbwrla Floatabout]

Blackburn buying Darwen's best players in the 1880s and then paying them more money, that's when the rot set in.

 

[J_B]

Blackburn buying Darwen's best players in the 1880s and then paying them more money, that's when the rot set in.

It simply wasn’t cricket.

 

[ARQS]

I can guarantee that if we finish eighth and get promoted via the playoffs your moral outrage will disappear.

Enjoy your weekend

You don't even need to go that far.

This time next year if we are 11 points off 6th and 4 points off 8th, everyone will be getting excited about the possibility of making the playoffs.

Nothing wrong with adding a bit of excitement for fans.

 

[Smurph]

You don't even need to go that far.

This time next year if we are 11 points off 6th and 4 points off 8th, everyone will be getting excited about the possibility of making the playoffs.

Nothing wrong with adding a bit of excitement for fans.

Exactly, the longer the season stays alive the better for me

 

[JustJack]

The entitlement about finishing 3rd is a bewt aswell

You're not winners, you're not runners up, you're just third ffs

Nobodys ever moaned about the 7th placed team in League Two getting into the playoffs mind

 

[exiledclaseboy]

With the right manager and careful (and lucky) recruitment any club can survive upon promotion.
See Rodgers, Brendan and Swansea City.

Bang on that. We had no right to do as well in our first season as we did. For that reason, Brendon Rodgers is our greatest ever manager.

 

[SeaJack]

I’ve been musing on this, and I feel that my radical idea could well give the sport we love a shot in the arm.

How about a revamped Promotion/Relegation model, which shakes and freshens up the whole footballing pyramid top to bottom?

For a start, I would scrap automatic promotion for the team in second place, and have them lying in wait at Wembley for the four teams that are due to play against each other, in the Playoff Semifinals.

Depending on who wins their respective semifinals, will then determine who plays in the Playoff Final, which would be held at Wembley as is the norm.

Once the winner of this final has been decided, that winning team then returns to Wembley once more, to play what would have been the automatic promotion side in years gone by.

The winner of this game then gets to join the team that has already gained automatic promotion through taking the top spot at the end of that particular season.

So, that deals with the top two promotion winners, but what about the last remaining promotion spot?

This would be taken by the losing side that narrowly missed out on promotion at Wembley in the newly dubbed Promotion Final, but only if they play and manage to win against the highest relegated Premier League team at Wembley once more.

Whichever team gains victory on this occasion, either swaps leagues if the Championship team wins, or remain where they are if the Premier League team wins.

So that would mean more games to play and therefore watch, plus one barnstorming FA Cup style finale at the end of every season to top things off.

Et Voila!

 

[Smurph]

I’ve been musing on this, and I feel that my radical idea could well give the sport we love a shot in the arm.

How about a revamped Promotion/Relegation model, which shakes and freshens up the whole footballing pyramid top to bottom?

For a start, I would scrap automatic promotion for the team in second place, and have them lying in wait at Wembley for the four teams that are due to play against each other, in the Playoff Semifinals.

Depending on who wins their respective semifinals, will then determine who plays in the Playoff Final, which would be held at Wembley as is the norm.

Once the winner of this final has been decided, that winning team then returns to Wembley once more, to play what would have been the automatic promotion side in years gone by.

The winner of this game then gets to join the team that has already gained automatic promotion through taking the top spot at the end of that particular season.

So, that deals with the top two promotion winners, but what about the last remaining promotion spot?

This would be taken by the losing side that narrowly missed out on promotion at Wembley in the newly dubbed Promotion Final, but only if they play and manage to win against the highest relegated Premier League team at Wembley once more.

Whichever team gains victory on this occasion, either swaps leagues if the Championship team wins, or remain where they are if the Premier League team wins.

So that would mean more games to play and therefore watch, plus one barnstorming FA Cup style finale at the end of every season to top things off.

Et Voila!

Scrapping automatic promotion for the second placed team is a dead rubber for me.

The national league adopt that approach and seems extremely unfair. Take this season as an example where you have York in second place on 83 points and Southend in seventh place 53 points. They're also 13 points clear of the third placed team.

York have won ten more game at the moment and deserve to be automatically promoted over a 46 games season.

 

[swansvalleyjack]

Bang on that. We had no right to do as well in our first season as we did. For that reason, Brendon Rodgers is our greatest ever manager.

Well, yes Brendan is great of course, but don't forget Tosh who got us to sixth in the first season up there. We also topped the table a few times in the campaign. I'm not saying you, but a lot think football started in the Premier era.

Division 1 was the equivalent, under a different name is all.

 

[Neath_Jack]

Well, yes Brendan is great of course, but don't forget Tosh who got us to sixth in the first season up there. We also topped the table a few times in the campaign. I'm not saying you, but a lot think football started in the Premier era.

Division 1 was the equivalent, under a different name is all.

The money involved now makes it a completely different ball game to when Tosh done it, as great an achievement it was mind. You can’t compare the two equally.

 

[J_B]

The money involved now makes it a completely different ball game to when Tosh done it, as great an achievement it was mind. You can’t compare the two equally.

Agreed. Forest won the Division one title the season after promotion from Division two. That's as good as impossible now.

 

[swansvalleyjack]

An interesting thought. I haven't the details to hand but when Brendan took us up, how many of the promotion team carried on into the Prem.

Looking at our current squad, and just say we fluked a play off, plus a Final win, I can only think that Vigouroux, Galbraith and maybe Tymon would cut it. Probably double that or more with Brendan ?

 

[Neath_Jack]

An interesting thought. I haven't the details to hand but when Brendan took us up, how many of the promotion team carried on into the Prem.

Looking at our current squad, and just say we fluked a play off, plus a Final win, I can only think that Vigouroux, Galbraith and maybe Tymon would cut it. Probably double that or more with Brendan ?

Nearly everyone thought we’d come straight back down, including our fans. It was a case of let’s have a ball and enjoy this season. I’m sure a lot will now say that they never thought that.

 

[Smurph]

An interesting thought. I haven't the details to hand but when Brendan took us up, how many of the promotion team carried on into the Prem.

Looking at our current squad, and just say we fluked a play off, plus a Final win, I can only think that Vigouroux, Galbraith and maybe Tymon would cut it. Probably double that or more with Brendan ?

A lot of that team which took us up took to the premier league like a swan to water.